Writing a Professional Life: Stories of Technical Communicators On and Off the Job

by Gerald Savage (Editor), Dale L. Sullivan (Editor)

This is the first collection of narratives by practicing technical communicators telling their own personal stories about the workplace and their lives on the job. The authors portray a wide range of jobs: writers, editors, interface designers, marketing writers, and trainers working in 9 different technical fields, including software, R&D, engineering, medicine, transportation, and telecommunications. The stories vividly demonstrate the unique power of narrative as a teaching and learning tool. Unlike fabricated cases, these real-life narratives show new and veteran technical writers at work on the job, dealing with tasks, clients, and co-workers, and revealing their insights, values, and attitudes about their work. The stories also show the skills required in the profession and the ethical and other issues raised in the course of the workday. For anyone interested in technical communication and professional writing.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published November 9, 2000

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just fine. Many of the narratives in here are engaging; some are a little too obviously moralistic, but this is honestly to be expected in a text intended to give students a glimpse of what life could possibly look like as a tech writer, tech communicator, or practitioner (depending on which term work for you). Though sometimes simplistic, the collection helped me to grapple with what we usually mean by 'tech comm'--as well as what we can mean. One of the editors includes an anecdote wherein he is exhorted to "Keep giving voice to the profession" by an early review group. This certainly does that.

Not for the experienced practitioner, unless interested in professional narrative. Definitely for the student.